1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention concerns electronic musical instruments and more particularly an electronic drum.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Electronic musical instruments are becoming increasingly popular with modern musical groups. Such instruments typically translate a vibration in an element manipulated by a performer into an electrical output signal which can then be processed by diverse methods. Electronic instruments generally offer a rich variety of musical sounds through electronic processing with substantial versatility in individual instruments.
Electronic drums are one form of electronic musical instruments in which a performer typically hits a striking element with a drumstick to produce a vibration in the striking element which is subsequently translated into an electrical output signal. Through electronic processing, some electronic drums can be used to simulate virtually any type of percussion instrument.
A number of electronic drums have been developed in the past. Typically these instruments include a conventional drum structure with varying types of transducer elements disposed within the drum to sense vibrations in a conventional drum diaphragm. One illustrative example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,156 in which a vibration responsive element is embedded in a mute assembly. The mute assembly and vibration responsive element are brought into contact with a conventional drum diaphragm to both dampen normal acoustical tones generated by the diaphgram and to produce electrical tones.
Previous electronic drums have also employed one or more ferromagnetic elements attached to the underside of a generally conventional drum diaphragm with one or more sensing coils or reluctance elements disposed within the drum in proximity to the ferromagnetic elements. Various examples of this structure are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,242,937, 3,956,959, and 3,553,339. In yet another electronic drum disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,188, the sensing element includes a foam conducting element, contiguous with a drum diaphragm having a resistance varying in response to compressive forces.
None of these examples allow for ready removal of a striking element or transducive element in the event of cracking in the former or failure in the latter. This can be a particular problem during live performances. These exemplary electronic drums are also generally the same size as conventional drums. Thus a drummer employing generally the same number of electronic drums is generally obscured from view during performances. While some of these exemplary electronic drums incorporate more than one striking surface or transducive element, none allow the use of a drummer's conventional acoustical "sticking" techniques. These playing techniques include, for example, such practices as "rim shots" (hitting the drum head and rim simultaneously) "side sticking" (laying the tip of a drumstick on the drum head and tapping the drum rim) and "stick on rim" (striking the drum rim alone).
Thus the manner in which the instrument can be played is somewhat limited. Consequently there exists a need for a small electronic drum in which a striking element or transducive element can be readily replaced in the event of failure and which permits the use of a drum performer's conventional acoustical "sticking" techniques.